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Mid-Nickel",103.5,99.73,3.78,13.78,6.78,[518,519,520,522,524,526,528,530,532,534,536,538],{"date":213,"value":512},{"date":216,"value":513},{"date":219,"value":521},99.19,{"date":222,"value":523},96.02,{"date":225,"value":525},98.23,{"date":467,"value":527},99.24,{"date":329,"value":529},101.29,{"date":339,"value":531},87.61,{"date":341,"value":533},92.44,{"date":344,"value":535},90.96,{"date":347,"value":537},92.24,{"date":350,"value":539},95.09,{"id":541,"uuid":542,"name":543,"slug":544,"full_slug":545,"content":546,"relatedArticles":754,"relatedVideos":755},107064112663443,"b489988f-ca11-452a-87b9-f797cba52943","Pentagon invests in MP Materials in bid to break China’s rare earths dominance","pentagon-invests-in-mp-materials-in-bid-to-break-chinas-rare-earths-dominance","article/pentagon-invests-in-mp-materials-in-bid-to-break-chinas-rare-earths-dominance",{"_uid":547,"date":548,"tags":549,"editor":562,"content":572,"excerpt":724,"featured":51,"reporter":725,"_editable":729,"component":730,"seo_title":731,"categories":732,"visibility":744,"author_company":49,"data_vis_image":745,"featured_image":748,"seo_description":751,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":752,"formattedArticleDate":753},"04856e4a-edad-47e9-9130-90f232ac4e8c","2025-07-11 00:00",[550,553,556,559],{"slug":551,"name":552},"china","China",{"slug":554,"name":555},"department-of-defense","Department of Defense",{"slug":557,"name":558},"mp-materials","MP Materials",{"slug":560,"name":561},"us","US",[563],{"slug":564,"name":565,"content":566},"matthew-bird","Matthew Bird",{"job_title":567,"image":568,"bio":570,"linkedin":571},"Senior Editor - Supply Chains & Data Visualisation",{"filename":569},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/512x512/14738033ec/matthew-bird.jpeg","Matthew writes, edits and produces content for Benchmark Intelligence and Benchmark Source across the whole mine to grid supply chain. He also acts as a liaison to the press. He has a PhD in electrochemistry from the University of Nottingham.","https://www.linkedin.com/in/birdmatthew/",{"type":573,"content":574},"doc",[575,582,605,617,638,645,650,672,677,682,687,709,714,719],{"type":576,"attrs":577,"content":578},"paragraph",{"textAlign":49},[579],{"text":580,"type":581},"The US Department of Defense (DoD) has inked a multibillion-dollar partnership with MP Materials (MP), marking a pivotal moment in the evolution of global rare earth supply chains. As the first—and currently only—company with a fully integrated mine-to-magnet supply chain in North America, MP’s new “10X” facility is pivotal for reducing US strategic dependencies on China. ","text",{"type":576,"attrs":583,"content":584},{"textAlign":49},[585,599],{"text":586,"type":581,"marks":587},"Rare earth permanent magnets (REPMs)",[588,593,597],{"type":589,"attrs":590},"link",{"href":591,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":592},"https://www.benchmarkminerals.com/glossary/ev-motors-and-systems","url",{"type":594,"attrs":595},"textStyle",{"color":596},"#0969D7",{"type":598},"underline",{"text":600,"type":581,"marks":601}," are critical components for renewable energy infrastructure, electric vehicles, and key defence technologies, such as F-35 fighter jets and Tomahawk missiles, making supply chain resilience a strategic imperative for western nations. A single F-35 jet contains 48kg of rare earth elements (REEs) and a Virginia-class submarine over 4,500kg.",[602],{"type":594,"attrs":603},{"color":604},"#3C3C39",{"type":606,"attrs":607},"blok",{"id":608,"body":609},"a6bb620f-c63a-48ac-8507-509d928ffdc9",[610],{"id":611,"_uid":612,"type":613,"_editable":614,"component":615,"fixed_height":616,"use_fixed_height":50,"fixed_height_mobile":616,"fixed_height_tablet":616},"24196778","i-c36b437c-c2a8-48a3-9ba2-1449c31e839f","visualisation","\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"ContentFlourish\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"i-c36b437c-c2a8-48a3-9ba2-1449c31e839f\", \"id\": \"\"}-->","ContentFlourish","",{"type":576,"attrs":618,"content":619},{"textAlign":49},[620,622,628,630,636],{"text":621,"type":581},"The deal comes as ",{"text":623,"type":581,"marks":624},"China weaponises its control over rare earths supply chains",[625],{"type":589,"attrs":626},{"href":627,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":592},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/china-tightens-rare-earth-exports-amid-escalating-trade-tensions-with-us",{"text":629,"type":581}," in the evolving tit-for-tat trade war between the world’s two largest economies. Boosting domestic supply and ",{"text":631,"type":581,"marks":632},"securing access to rare earths resources abroad has been a key priority ",[633],{"type":589,"attrs":634},{"href":635,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":592},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/us-and-ukraine-clinch-historic-critical-minerals-agreement",{"text":637,"type":581},"for the Trump administration during its early months in office.",{"type":639,"attrs":640,"content":642},"heading",{"level":641,"textAlign":49},4,[643],{"text":644,"type":581},"What does the deal involve?",{"type":576,"attrs":646,"content":647},{"textAlign":49},[648],{"text":649,"type":581},"Central to the agreement is a 10-year NdPr (neodymium-praseodymium) price floor at $110/kg, which not only guarantees stable revenues for MP but also sends strong price signals to the market.",{"type":576,"attrs":651,"content":652},{"textAlign":49},[653,658,667],{"text":654,"type":581,"marks":655},"Prices outside China have surged 3–5 times since China enacted export controls in early April, a response to President Trump's aggressive tariff policy. This price-floor policy could help create a ",[656],{"type":594,"attrs":657},{"color":604},{"text":659,"type":581,"marks":660},"bifurcated pricing mechanism for rare earths",[661,664,666],{"type":589,"attrs":662},{"href":663,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":592},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/rare-earth-prices-show-regional-bifurcation-following-export-restrictions-imposed-by-china",{"type":594,"attrs":665},{"color":596},{"type":598},{"text":668,"type":581,"marks":669},", laying the foundations for an ex-China rare earth price index.",[670],{"type":594,"attrs":671},{"color":604},{"type":576,"attrs":673,"content":674},{"textAlign":49},[675],{"text":676,"type":581},"The price floor also helps make the 10X project significantly more bankable, by reducing price risk and encouraging upstream and midstream investments. For now, MP will receive $1.15 billion in public-private financing, with the DoD’s $400 million commitment (for a 15% stake) making it MP’s largest shareholder, highlighting the scale and strategic importance of the partnership.",{"type":639,"attrs":678,"content":679},{"level":641,"textAlign":49},[680],{"text":681,"type":581},"A game-changing moment for supply security?",{"type":576,"attrs":683,"content":684},{"textAlign":49},[685],{"text":686,"type":581},"The implications for supply security are significant, with the defence and EV sectors—both disproportionately impacted by China’s export controls—standing to benefit. ",{"type":576,"attrs":688,"content":689},{"textAlign":49},[690,695,704],{"text":691,"type":581,"marks":692},"The US accounts for the largest share of global defence magnet demand, which is expected to reach 5kt by 2028, and is third only to China in EV magnet demand. By 2030, ",[693],{"type":594,"attrs":694},{"color":604},{"text":696,"type":581,"marks":697},"US e-mobility magnet demand is projected to climb to 14.5kt",[698,701,703],{"type":589,"attrs":699},{"href":700,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":592},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/the-importance-of-evs-to-the-rare-earths-market",{"type":594,"attrs":702},{"color":596},{"type":598},{"text":705,"type":581,"marks":706},".",[707],{"type":594,"attrs":708},{"color":604},{"type":576,"attrs":710,"content":711},{"textAlign":49},[712],{"text":713,"type":581},"MP’s Texas magnet facility (1ktpa capacity) is expected online by end-2026, with the 10X facility targeting ~10kt capacity by 2028. While these developments are significant, US magnet demand is still projected to outpace domestic supply, requiring further capacity build-out beyond 2028.",{"type":576,"attrs":715,"content":716},{"textAlign":49},[717],{"text":718,"type":581},"Europe, too, is catching up—with players like Neo Performance Materials and Mkango Resources building magnet and recycling capacity.",{"type":576,"attrs":720,"content":721},{"textAlign":49},[722],{"text":723,"type":581},"The MP–DoD deal is unlikely to be the last. Rather, it’s a template for industrial policy, a national security investment, and a clear signal: the West is finally getting serious about supply resilience.","The US Department of Defense (DoD) has inked a multibillion-dollar partnership with MP Materials (MP), marking a pivotal moment in the evolution of global rare earth supply chains. As the first—and currently only—company with a fully integrated mine-to-magnet supply chain in North America, MP’s new “10X” facility is pivotal for reducing US strategic dependencies on […]",[726],{"slug":564,"name":565,"content":727},{"job_title":567,"image":728,"bio":570,"linkedin":571},{"filename":569},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"04856e4a-edad-47e9-9130-90f232ac4e8c\", \"id\": \"\"}-->","article","Pentagon invests MP Materials in bid to break China’s rare earths",[733,736,739,742],{"slug":734,"name":735},"critical-minerals","Critical Minerals",{"slug":737,"name":738},"geopolitics","Geopolitics",{"slug":740,"name":741},"new-energy","New Energy",{"slug":743,"name":414},"rare-earths","private",{"id":49,"alt":49,"name":616,"focus":49,"title":49,"source":49,"filename":616,"copyright":49,"fieldtype":746,"meta_data":747},"asset",{},{"id":49,"alt":616,"name":616,"focus":616,"title":616,"source":616,"filename":749,"copyright":616,"fieldtype":746,"meta_data":750,"is_external_url":51},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/70f265554a/bm-shutterstock-1210283029.jpg",{"alt":616,"title":616,"source":616,"copyright":616},"The US Department of Defense (DoD) has inked a multibillion-dollar partnership with MP Materials (MP), marking a pivotal moment in the evolution of global rare earth supply chains. As the first—and currently only—company with a fully  […]","Jul 11, 2025","11th July 2025",[],[],1780500930102]